The invention relates to devices to be activated by animals, for dispensing items, particularly foodstuffs.
It is known that dispensers for animals are activated in the following way. A round dispenser is filled with foodstuffs. The animal then rolls the dispenser or turns it in some other way so that the foodstuff is dispensed through a hole in the dispenser. The animal thus has to roll the dispenser back and forth several times over a large area before all the foodstuff has been dispensed from the dispenser.
Many animal owners, especially dog owners, consider it a problem that the dog has to roll the dispenser over a large area to gain access to the foodstuff. When the dispenser is used indoors, it frequently rolls or is moved in under chairs and sofas and becomes lodged there. This results in the dog becoming annoyed that the dispenser has disappeared and in the owner having to find it for the dog. Another problem is that the dispenser makes a noise when it is rolled over the floor; it rattles when it rolls and neighbors living in an apartment below can be irritated by the noise.
The rolling dispenser also results in scratches on floors, especially parquet and wooden floors, which in turn results in the dog not being able to use the dispenser indoors. When the dog rolls the dispenser outdoors, this may present a problem if the ground is not level. The dispenser rolls away and may disappear by rolling under shrubs or into tall grass. The dispenser can also present a danger to the life of the dog in that it can roll out onto the road, as many dog owners have experienced.
All known devices presume that the animal must roll the dispenser or turn it in some other way to access the foodstuff inside the dispenser.
The present invention relates to a device which is activated by animals but within a limited area and the device gives the animal a greater challenge and is thereby an improvement on known devices.
The device of the invention comprises a container, which has preferably a rounded oblong or conical shape but also works in other shapes, such as angular or rounded, and can be opened by having parts in threaded screw engagement or has a hole where foodstuffs can be admitted to the dispenser. A weight is attached to the base, resulting in the dispenser always having the same initial position, i.e. it with the weight at the base. The weight acts as a counterbalance when the animal hits the dispenser to portion the foodstuff through the hole. This results in the device not rolling across large areas but moving back and forth within a small area, with the weight in the base towards the floor or ground, with the animal, especially a dog, having to work harder and use its paw to press the activator down towards the supporting surface for a piece of feed to be dispensed from the hole. When the dog removes its paw, the activator rocks back and forth a few times before resuming its initial resting position.
The weighted dispenser enables the animal, a dog in particular, to use the dispenser indoors as well as outdoors within a limited area without being interrupted by the dispenser rolling away and disappearing under a chair or shrub. Floors are not scratched, the noise is eliminated and neighbors are therefore not disturbed. The dog can use the device outdoors without danger to its life. The device results in the dog having a greater challenge and a more difficult task to perform.
The device preferably has a contoured surface to provide grip for paws when used.
The device can be provided with partition walls to make the dispensing of the feed through the hole more difficult.
The weight of the counterbalance is adapted to that of the device to provide the correct counterbalance effect.
The device can further be provided with noise-insulating material for noiseless activation. This can be achieved by a suspension device such as suspension studs 9 distributed around the lower part of the outer casing on which noise-insulating material, e.g. felt fabric, can be attached (see FIG. 4). The felt fabric can be provided with holes 11 that are threaded over the protruding suspension studs.
Alternatively, a felt bag can be slipped over the device from beneath with an elastic ribbon enabling attachment over the suspension studs.
The device can also be provided with other noise-insulating material, for instance rubber 12, that in one way or another is placed on or over the device or, alternatively, attached according to arrows 13 to the suspension studs 9.
The counterbalancing weight of the device can be made of magnetic material, such as steel, for instance. This enables the device to be placed on a supporting surface that is preferably magnetic, for instance to increase the degree of difficulty with which the animal can set the device in motion and thereby dispense the pieces of feed.